The Seattle Storm, fresh off a blowout road loss to the Indiana Fever, seemed destined for the same fate, down 21 points against the best team in the WNBA on Thursday night. But just as quickly as they went down, the Storm rallied.
Propelled by a 25-6 spurt to end the third quarter, the Storm outscored the Minnesota Lynx 60-33 in the second half and turned a close game into a 93-79 statement win. Head coach Noelle Quinn was more than satisfied with the performance her crew put on in adverse circumstances.
“Just the second half, how we played with the energy level, the confidence, the execution, I would say this is our best half in the second half of the season — especially (with) who we’re playing against,” Quinn said.
The win moves Seattle to 21-19 with four games to play. The Storm hold the No. 7 seed with the top eight teams qualifying for the playoffs. Those postseason implications motivated Erica Wheeler (13 points, three steals) and company to change the energy when the game looked bleak.
“We know where we are in the standings, we know that everything we do moving forward is important, and that’s how we’re playing,” Wheeler said. “(Quinn) said in the locker room just now, that’s the standard now … we showed some grit tonight.”
Leading the charge was All-Star guard Skylar Diggins, whose 23 points and four steals each led the game. Diggins hit four 3-pointers on a night where Seattle converted a season-high 16 triples. Gabby Williams (16 points, two blocks) and Erica Wheeler each hit four 3s as well while rookie Dominique Malonga (13 points, seven rebounds) shot 6-7 from the field. Ezi Magbegor (eight points, seven rebounds) was excellent in paint defense, registering five blocks for the fourth time this season.
Minnesota started the game on the front foot though. All-Star guard Courtney Williams (18 points, 10 assists) got easy midrange looks in transition while sharpshooter Kayla McBride (20 points, five 3-pointers) had wide-open shots from the arc to jump out to a 21-6 lead early.
Seattle’s defense settled in a bit as the half progressed, as the Storm went on an 8-0 run in response as the halftime deficit remained at 13.
Diggins’ third quarter was the firestarter Seattle needed, as she put in 13 points and three steals. The 11-year veteran and seven-time All-Star punctuated the frame with a pull-up 3-pointer over Lynx MVP candidate Napheesa Collier to push the lead to four with less than a second remaining.
Diggins jawed at the Minnesota bench after the 3-pointer — Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve picked up a technical in response — as it was clear this game would be a tense battle in the fourth. For Wheeler, however, the key to keeping the energy going was to continue to maul Minnesota on the run.
“We didn’t call a play, we played just transition ball, setting drag screens, and that’s what got us back in the game,” Wheeler said. “We knew they were a little desperate. We were too.”
Seattle continued its run by raining down more 3s from Nneka Ogwumike (12 points, nine rebounds), Malonga and Williams. On the defensive end, Seattle disrupted a Minnesota offense trying to get it all back at once. Seattle finished the game with 10 steals, while Quinn said her staff tracked over 30 deflections live.
A late triple from Williams sealed it as Reeve took her starters out with just over a minute to play. Seattle had gone from down 21 to its biggest win since mid-July.
It may count as one win in the standings, but the performance could serve as a blueprint for Quinn’s crew.
“This has to continue to be the standard; we can’t get below that,” Quinn said. “When there are lulls within the game, or we’re not playing to our standard, we can always reflect back on how we do it, because we’ve done it.”
Collier scored 18 points and went 7-23 as she struggled to find a rhythm against Malonga and Magbegor. Seattle may have dropped 60 on Minnesota in that second half, but consistent stops and defensive attention were Diggins’ keys to success.
“That 34-point third quarter was a big deal, but I think the most impressive thing was defensively and holding them to 17 and 16 in the third and fourth,” Diggins said.
The win pushed Seattle’s five-game road trip record to 4-1, as the Storm return to Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday night to face the Chicago Sky.
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